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New York - A three-course lunch
hosted by an eccentric Chinese millionaire for 250 homeless New Yorkers in a
posh restaurant degenerated into fury on Wednesday when guests were denied $300
cash handouts.

It had seemed such a good idea.
Recycling tycoon Chen Guangbiao last week took out ads in American newspapers
promising a first-rate meal at the Boathouse in Central Park and $300 each.

Guests were bussed in and
treated to a sit-down meal of seared tuna, filet mignon and seasonal berries,
waited on by staff in suits and bow ties, but anger flared over the cash
no-show.

As Chen spoke to a gaggle of
Chinese journalists while dessert was being served, one guest started shouting.

"Don't lie to the
people!" Ernest St Pierre told AFP. "We came here for $300 but now
he's changed his tune."

Chen announced through a
translator that he was heading to the New York City Rescue Mission - which helped organise
the lunch - and
invited guests to join him there.

"This individual who’s
filthy rich put it in the paper," St Pierre, a former US Navy medic, told
reporters.

Retired Vietnam War veteran
Harry Brooks told reporters he would be "highly upset" if he didn't
get the cash, despite enjoying the food "very much."

"I could use $300,"
he said. "Clothing for one thing," he said gesturing at his shabby
attire when asked how he would spend it.

Not all guests were unhappy.
Many said they enjoyed the food and called the experience
"beautiful," saying they were touched that someone had flown all the
way from China wanting to help.

'Fraud'

But as they were herded outside
to queue up to get the bus back, complaints multiplied.

Quin Shabazz, aged 34, said he
felt the homeless had been exploited and branded the lunch - covered by a mob
of TV cameras and reporters - "a big publicity stunt."

Al Johnson, aged 42, said he
had been banking on the money to get his life together and go home to his
family in Texas.

"This was going to change
my life," he said. "Fraud. This is fraud with a capital F," he
added. "I feel used for a photo op."

Craig Mayes, executive director
of the New York City Rescue Mission, was left to deny there had been any
injustice.

"I'm really sorry. It was
misrepresented in the paper," he said.

Michelle Tolson, director of
public relations at the Mission, said on Tuesday that no cash would be handed
out to individuals and that it had taken 1.5 months of negotiations to convince
Chen to instead donate $90 000 to the group.

The money would be ploughed
straight into the Mission's $5mn yearly expenses to feed and house people, she
said.

The shelter provides people
with a hot meal, a clean shower and a safe bed, clothing and assistance in
addressing their problems.

‘He’s an embarrassment’

Chen, known for publicity
stunts and reportedly worth an estimated $825mn, serenaded his guests with a
rendition of the 1985 charity single "We Are the World."

The smiling, bespectacled
businessman said he wanted to give back after wealthy Americans had contributed
to relief efforts after disasters in China.

"Hopefully, I will really
lead the way to encourage other people who are in a position to help to follow
through," he said.

But Chinese Internet users
reacted with derision.

Chen has previously sold cans
of supposed fresh air on Beijing's polluted streets, and said he wanted to buy
the New York Times.

"He's an embarrassment and
he has now proved it overseas," said one poster on China's Twitter-like
Sina Weibo, asking him: "Would you die if you stopped creating hype? The
central government please rush to take him back and put him into a madhouse."

Another asked: "What is
Chen Guangbiao's background? He's like a clown... Isn't there anyone to
investigate where his money comes from?"

Coalition for the Homeless says
around 60 000 homeless men, women and children bed down in New York's shelters
and thousands more sleep rough on the streets or elsewhere.

The number of homeless New
Yorkers has risen by 75% since 2002 and in recent years has reached the highest
levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s, according to the advocacy
group.

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